The Star-News

Fight lands two women in prison

Sat, Dec 04 2010 12:00 PM Posted By: Neal Putnam

Two South Bay women have been found guilty of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in the 2009 fatal stabbing of Justine Brown, 18, of National City, in a dispute over a mutual boyfriend and his car.

Antoinette Latrice Dokes, 20, was convicted of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit assault and vandalism of the victim's car.

She will be sentenced on Jan. 5 and faces a sentence of 16 years to life in prison, said Deputy District Attorney Gregg McClain.

Rachael Elizabeth Wheelis, 21, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and conspiracy to commit assault and faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison. Wheelis will be sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 7, by Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh.

Brown was stabbed to death on April 17, 2009, on a sidewalk on East Ninth Street near A Avenue in a residential area of National City.

McClain said Brown was stabbed in the left side of her chest and the blade "punctured her heart."

The prosecutor said Dokes actually inflicted the stab wounds and Wheelis was with her at the time. Dokes and the victim were seeing the same boyfriend and the dispute was over a car he let one of the women use. Brown was the old girlfriend the man had dated previously and he had loaned his car to her. The man had started dating Dokes, who felt she should get to use the car.

The evidence during the trial included the purchase of the knife at Walmart which was captured by security video before the slaying. The jury deliberated two days before reaching the verdicts.